Jerome One Shots Series
by BlackCat46
Summary: A series of one shots about Jerome Clarke as a five year old to adulthood. Open to requests. (R&R, maybe slightly AU/OOC. I own only plot line.) K to T.
1. Cookies and Cuddles

(I own only plot.)

_I've decided to do a whole bunch of young Jerome one shots. So I'm open for requests. Enjoy!_

* * *

Jerome opened his eyes to a sunlit room. He didn't know this room. He'd fallen asleep in his own room, at his mother's house. Where was he? He panicked, seeing the one outfit he had washed and stainless. He screamed "Mummy!"

He didn't dare leave the room. The door opened and a woman he'd never met before shot in and scooped him up. She cuddled him, soothingly holding him. She softly whispered "Sh, sh, darling child."

He had no idea who she was, but he liked her. She cradled him as if he was baby, which he liked. She kissed his cheeks and whispered that he was safe with her. Jerome felt he had no choice but to trust this strange but sweet creature. He nestled up closer to her, feeling the warmth radiating off her. She rested her cheek on his hair, rubbing gently. He liked this soft, cuddly thing. The woman carried Jerome downstairs and gave him a plastic mug of milk and a plastic plate with cookies on it. "Eat up, darling." She whispered.

Jerome picked up a cookie and stared at it. He'd seen his real mother eating them but had never tasted one. He curiously looked at it, examined it. Trudy watched him, her face glowing with pleasure and fond amusement. She saw a tiny boy with round cheeks and massive blue eyes and a big mop of dark blonde hair examining a cookie with an innocent interest. Jerome looked at her with a questioning face. She smiled.

"Jerome, darling, that's for you to eat." She told him, her face glowing.

He looked at her. "I've never eaten one of these things." Jerome told her, with a slight baby lisp.

"Well, now you can, sweetheart. Go on, they don't bite back." She smiled. Her smile grew as the tiny boy bit into his examined cookie. He swallowed his mouthful and looked at the cookie in wonder. Trudy chuckled to see his look of surprise.

"Yummy thing, ma'am." He smiled, still not knowing her name.

"I'm glad you like it, sweet pea. Now, you call for me if you need anything." Trudy beamed, then scooted out to do some cleaning.

Jerome noticed some writing. "_Trudy, remember to pick up some straw. Victor._"

He assumed the lady was called Trudy as he'd had a friend called Victor two years before, another little boy. He ate his cookies, drank his milk and jumped off the work top he'd been put on. He fell over as he landed and hurt his leg. He started screaming in pain and Trudy went running.

"My darling child, what happened?" She asked, terrified. She crouched down and lifted him, clutching him to her.

"I felled and hurted my foots. It's really sore." Jerome sobbed, clinging on and snuffling on her.

"Oh, sweetie pie. Let me see." She whispered in his ear, then tenderly checked his ankles. His left leg was fine, then she checked out the right. She knew immediately that there was something badly wrong with that ankle as he screamed when she touched it. She whispered "Darling, I know it hurts, but you need to be strong for me, because that ankle may be too badly hurt for me to do anything. You may need to go to hospital. Would you be alright with me checking it for you?"

"Yes, Miss Trudy." He smiled, proud of his newly discovered reading skills.

She kissed his cheeks with pride in him, then returned to checking his ankle. She lay him down, then gently lifted his leg and very tenderly checked the bone in his ankle. It was supposed to be hard in certain areas and she noticed it being feathery soft. Jerome was silently crying. Trudy immediately kissed his cheeks and told him that she'd be right back. She grabbed a first aid kit and yelled at Victor that she needed him to drive her to the hospital. He came downstairs, just to see her finish a bandage on Jerome's ankle and using plaster tape to stiffen it.

"Trudy, I know you're a menace to children, but what have you done to this one?" Victor asked.

"I'm no menace and this poor child has fallen and broken his ankle. I need him in the hospital, this thing won't help anyone." She told him.

Victor watched as Trudy lifted the child up in her arms, gently kissing his hair and telling him it'd be fine. She sat in the backseat with him, letting him rest his head against her. She loved him more than she wanted to breathe. She sang songs to him, soothingly quiet lullabies. Jerome snuggled in against her ribs and fell asleep into a magical world of cookies and cuddles.

He woke up again, his leg in a cast and Trudy cradling him. He was on the sofa, in her arms, feeling very warm, but his leg hurt. She saw that he was awake and she kissed his cheeks. "Hi, darling. Don't worry about your leg, it's all fine. You slept through the whole thing and nobody dared to wake you. Anyway. I bet you're hungry. Would you like some munchies, baby?" She cooed.

"Yes, please." Jerome replied very politely.

"OK, come on. Because you're my big brave boy, I'm letting you pick the meal. What do you want?" She asked.

"Well, my real mummy used to have date nights in and she'd buy things that smelled really nice, but she never let me try." Jerome told Trudy hesitantly.

"Oh, you mean takeaway meals. Well, of course. You can have a takeaway. What do you fancy? Chinese, fish and chips, pizza?" Trudy offered, not caring about prices, but caring about Jerome.

"Um, Chinese?" He asked, very timid. She looked extremely tall to him. She bent down and picked him up.

"OK, darling. What would you like from there?" She offered him a menu.

He looked it through. The dish he really liked the sound of was chicken sweet and sour. Trudy knew exactly what to do, gave Victor a choice, then ordered. She made a salad and Jerome wondered why. And she told him she'd only ordered two meals from the takeaway and she was going to just eat a salad.

When the food arrived, she dished it up and gave the sweet and sour chicken to Jerome with her specially made egg fried rice. She took the pork in X.O. sauce to Victor with the side of rice.

She sat with Jerome and ate her salad. He kept offering her some, but she gently told him that it was his and he should be the one to eat it. She gave him bits of her salad, letting him try it. To Trudy's amazement, he still had enough room for her homemade cookie ice cream, with additional cookie dough chunks and sauces. He ate the lot and she shared a Galaxy chocolate with him, too. He didn't want to leave her side that night, liking her more with each passing second. She tried to put him in his bed and he clung to her.

"Mummy, can't I stay up a little longer with you?" He asked her, making her melt down.

"Aw, darling. I'm going to go to bed, too." She cooed.

"Please don't leave me here." He was starting to cry, feeling suddenly unwanted.

Trudy was shattered that he was upset. She lifted him up again and took him to her room. "I'm not going to leave you there. I'm going to let you stay with me." She let him lie down in her bed with her. The two slept happily, like a true mother and son.


	2. Learning To Ride A Bike

(I own only plot.)

_Jerome learns to ride a bike. Idea by LuvFiction Xxxx. I'm open for requests. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

It was a sunny day out, two months after Jerome had arrived, and Jerome wanted to go play in the garden. He slowly walked downstairs. He'd been told by the caretaker to learn his way around, because being carried would soon hurt Trudy. Jerome saw that Trudy was in the garden herself, grabbing a bicycle. Jerome looked at it in amazement. Trudy turned to look at him.

"Hi, love." She smiled, looking at him fondly.

"Hi. What's going on?" Jerome asked.

"I was just going out for a ride. Want to come?" Trudy looked at the small boy, wheeling out a small bicycle, perfect for him.

"I don't know how." Jerome blushed and admitted in a low voice. Trudy smiled, putting a helmet on him.

"Right. I'm going to teach you. Once you get the hang of it, it's as easy as breathing. Just wait for a second." She told him, then ran into the house. She got back with two tiny wheels. "Right, these are stabilizers. I just have to put them on your bicycle and then you can try." She screwed the stabilizers on and let Jerome climb on. "OK, sweetheart. You won't fall with this. However, I'm not risking it. Put your feet on the pedals." She made Jerome put his feet on the pedals, then told him to use his foot to press the highest pedal down. Jerome tried it and the bike moved. Trudy watched him with pride.

"Look!" He cheered. Trudy applauded.

"Clever boy! Now, sweetie, turn the handles around and come back over here." She smiled at him.

He did just that, turning to her and cycling back. She saw he didn't know how to stop, ran up and pressed the brakes so that it stopped, but didn't throw him. She whispered "You were brilliant with the stabilizers. Now, would you like to try without them?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Jerome cheered, his five year old mind eager and uncomprehending.

Trudy smiled at his eagerness and removed the stabilizers. Jerome eagerly hopped on, but the bike fell over. He let out a whimper and Trudy instantly fell to her knees to help. Jerome sobbed and she gently kissed his cheeks in an effort to make him feel better.

"Oh, my darling. When you only have two wheels, put on foot on the lower pedal and one on the ground. That way, you won't fall. Now, try again, hmm?" She asked. Jerome nodded, then tried as she said.

He lifted his foot to the pedal, then started to pedal it. He fell over, though and Trudy shot toward him like a rocket. "Ow." Jerome whimpered.

Trudy tenderly lifted him up. "Oh, dear. You poor thing. Maybe this was a bad idea." She sighed.

"No, I wanna learn to ride a bike, just like you do." Jerome told her, desperate to try.

"OK, my love, if that's what you want." She smiled at him, though she was nervous.

"Can you hold it for me, so it doesn't fall over?" Jerome asked her.

Trudy smiled. "Yes, alright. Come on." She held his seat and he started again. She waited for three laps of the garden before she let go and he cycled the lap by himself. He returned to her, and looked surprised when he saw her stood by the bike shed. He cycled to her side and looked at her, apprehensively.

"You let go." He told her, surprised.

"Yes. And you, my stunning little man, managed to cycle around the garden all by yourself. I am so proud of you, my darling child. Come on, you and I will go get ice cream as a treat." She told him, smiling.

Jerome hugged her around the knees, then the two jumped onto their bikes and cycled over to the ice cream shop.


	3. Jerome Celebrates Halloween, Part 1

(I own only plot.)

_Jerome celebrating Halloween, Part One. Ideas by LuvFiction Xxxx. I'm open for requests. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

October thirtieth and Jerome was bored. He turned on the telly and immediately saw a movie. He pressed the Select button on the remote and saw that it said _Halloweentown II: Return to Halloweentown._ He got watching just as the opening credits began. Trudy walked in and saw what he was watching.

"Jerome, my lovely, what are you watching?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"This movie, Halleenton." He told her, not understanding her confused look.

"Come again, love?" She blinked at him in confusion. Jerome clicked Select and she read it. "Oh, _Halloweentown._ I love that movie, I watched it's premiere. Here, would you like popcorn?"

"Please?" He asked, hopefully.

She cooked some popcorn, then sat on the sofa with Jerome. They watched the movie, though the ending worried him a bit and he ended up curled on Trudy's lap, sucking his thumb. She kissed the soft mop of curls on Jerome's head and whispered "It's all just pretend. It's not really happening."

After the film, Jerome said "What's Halloween?"

"Well, Halloween is originally an American tradition, brought over to England. Now both countries celebrate it." She told him. "It includes parties, dressing up, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, cookie making, sweet-eating, apple-bobbing. It's tomorrow evening."

Jerome said "Can we have a go?"

"I don't see why not. What do you want to start with?" Trudy squished him gently, looking at his innocent and clear blue eyes.

"Can we make cookies?" He asked her hopefully.

"Of course we can, my lovely child." She beamed and carried him to the kitchen, letting him stand on a special stool to help her out.

Jerome tried his hand at cracking an egg and the thing splattered all over the unit. He looked nervously up at Trudy, who was trying her hardest not to laugh. She wiped the egg off the surface and showed Jerome how to do it, into her bowl of cake mix. He tried again, with her help. He successfully cracked his egg and Trudy kissed his cheek, congratulating him excessively. After the cookie mix was made, Jerome was given a lot of foil to roll the cookies out on and had to use her pumpkin cutter, the witch hat, the fangs and the ghost. Jerome happily cut them out, doing just as he'd seen Trudy doing multiple times with the cookie dough, while she made little black and orange cupcakes. She smiled and put the cookies in the oven, with her cakes. Then they happily sat down and waited for their treats to finish baking.

Afterward, when she'd given him the opportunity to taste a few, she put them in airtight containers, then said "Next, we're doing something else. Like costumes? Pumpkins? What do you want to do?"

"Can we buy both, then tomorrow morning carve our pumpkin?" Jerome asked her, praying that she'd say yes.

"Of course, darling." She smiled, all too ready to please him.


	4. Jerome Celebrates Halloween, Part 1&Half

(I own only plot.)

_Jerome celebrating Halloween, Part One and a half. Ideas by LuvFiction Xxxx. I'm open for requests. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

October thirty-first, six in the evening. Jerome was trying to hang up a glowing skeleton. He wasn't tall enough to get it on the hook. He called for Trudy, who had told him that he had to have their home decorated by the time they went out.

She ran in and gave him his little stool, having been hanging paper chains. She knew what she was doing all right.

Quietly, after he'd hung his things, Trudy slipped up behind him and scooped him up in her arms, cuddling him. "Hi, baby! Come on, let's go put up our treat bowl." Trudy cooed. Jerome loved their treat bowl, it grabbed everyone's hand. And there was a tombstone on the door, just above the floor, so it looked like two hands had shot out. The two filled it up and watched some scary programs until they went out.

Jerome said "So far, I like this Halloween."

"Good stuff, darling. Now, you, go to our kitchen and grab yourself some sweets." She smiled.


	5. Jerome Celebrates Halloween, Part 2

(I own only plot.)

_Jerome celebrating Halloween, Part Two. Ideas by LuvFiction Xxxx. I'm open for requests. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

October thirty-first, 5:30 in the afternoon. Jerome saw the two giant pumpkins he and Trudy had selected. She cut out the lid, then gave Jerome a giant scoop.

"Here, darling, scoop the inside of this out and put it in this." Trudy told him, her voice very soft.

She placed a big bowl at the side for the scrapings. Jerome proved talented at that and soon had two pumpkins scraped out. When it came to carving, Jerome said "Can I carve the pumpkin, please?"

"Sorry, sweetheart, but this isn't a safe part. The knife is sharp and it can cut you. I don't want you hurt, darling."

Jerome pestered, but then Trudy proved how dangerous it was when she accidentally cut her palm. After that, he let her do it, though he hugged her hard. She carved just how he wanted it, placing a tea candle in it. Then she let him choose the next one and carved that out too.

"OK, love, now we've done our pumpkins, time to change." Trudy cooed.

He'd chosen a cute little vampire outfit and made Trudy coo at him. Even Victor thought it looked sweet, a baby vampire. Trudy was so pleased. She had chosen a simple red dress and devil horns with red lipstick. Jerome held onto her good hand, carrying his lantern and his trick-or-treat bag. Trudy very simply accompanied him, not wanting her baby lost. Jerome got a lot of sweets and cookies and popcorn and money too when Trudy wasn't looking.

Back at the house, they looked through Jerome's trick-or-treat bag. Hard sweets, toffees, jelly sweets, chocolates, popcorn, cookies. Even the money.

Trudy said "Right, darling. I hate to tell you no, but these hard sweets are a no go. You have to suck on the toffees until they turn gooey. "

Jerome knew her very well and knew that she had a good reason for the rare times she ever told him no. Like with the knife and the oven and hobs, jumping on the bed, with the sewing things, getting in the wardrobe, sliding down the rails, running on the stairs, messing with Victor's things. She was very aware of everything now that Jerome was about.

He trusted her every word and only ate the soft ones, like she'd told him. She also knew he had a loose tooth, so he was to suck the toffees. He didn't like all the rules, but knew that she was right. He liked the taste of the sweets, though. She discovered that some people had given Jerome money, counted it out for him and discovered that he had twenty four pounds, ninety five pence. She warned him against spending it on sweets, which he had no intention of doing. He'd enjoyed Halloween.


	6. Jerome Gets A Cold

(I own only plot.)

Jerome had just turned seven and was in Anubis house, worrying. Trudy had gone out on a date with a man Jerome had never met. He'd begged Trudy not to go, clinging onto her and kissing her. She'd sent him to his room and had still gone out. Jerome had started getting very warm and feeling ill, so he got out of his bed. He paced up and down, feeling worse. He shot off to the bathroom and was sick multiple times.

He'd cried most of the evening, unwanted and terrifying images of Trudy going through his young mind.

Images of her, lying broken and bleeding in a ditch.

Pinned against a wall, a stranger hurting her.

Being squeezed violently, forced into a kiss.

Lay in some abandoned alleyway, bleeding and her dark eyes glazed.

He started crying again at that last image. Now he was feeling all hot and sticky. Suddenly, the door opened and he heard Trudy's soft giggles and a deeper voice laughing with her.

"Oh, shush, shush. Jerome'll be asleep, the poor cherub. I feel so guilty." Her giggles resumed.

Jerome didn't like her feeling guilty. He shot out of bed and straight at her. "You're OK!" He cheered.

"Jerome!" Trudy gasped, scooping him up. "What did I tell you?! Sleep at a reasonable time!"

"I was worried you'd get dead!" He told her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You were right, Jasper, we should have gone to yours." Trudy told him.

Jerome looked up at the man and saw him looking at Jerome with some interest. "So this is your beloved little charge? He definitely loves you, gorgeous."

"Wha-?! Jasper, I-!" She stuttered.

"It's OK, beautiful. Hey, little man, you sure look like you'll provide competition against me for this one." Jasper told him.

"You better not hurt her. She's too special for someone to hurt her." Jerome smiled.

"Ah, I know. A real beauty she is too. Do you know, I have a godson around your age. He's a little lonely at school, poor fellow. He's also an only child, just like you." Jasper smiled at the little boy.

"Really?" Jerome said. Trudy opened her mouth to say something about Jerome's burning high temperature, then closed it again.

"Yeah. Would it be OK with the both of you if I brought him along?" Jasper asked. "He could entertain Jerome while you and I have a little fun."

Trudy blushed a little. "Oh, well, if my special cherub here would like that...?"

Jerome looked at Jasper with a hard glare. "You better not kiss her! She doesn't need a baby."

"Oh, alright, good sir, I'll make sure nothing goes astray." Jasper saluted Jerome, making him laugh and Trudy chuckled.

"Aw, darling Jasper, you're a kiddie at heart, aren't you?" Trudy lovingly pushed him gently.

"As much as young Jerome here is a good young man already, my beautiful starling." Jasper gently tickled her ribs.

"Ooh! Careful!" She giggled, almost falling. Jasper took Jerome.

"Whoops! Watch your step, you almost dropped the lad on his back end." Jasper chuckled.

"You tickled me! I'm a helpless pile of giggles if I get a tickle, you know that." She defended.

"Yeah. Anyway, laddie, isn't it past your bedtime?" Jasper jiggled Jerome.

"It is, but I need to know you're not going to make her have babies." Jerome was firm, which made Trudy gasp.

"Oh-oh-oh-kay, bedtime!" She chuckled. "Hang on, please." Jasper followed Trudy to Jerome's room. Jerome lay down and did as Trudy told him. She kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, my little lambkin." She whispered.

Jerome whispered "Nightie-night."

He fell asleep happily. Jasper whispered "Trudy, you're like his mother. He's right to worship you as much as he does."

"Aw. Poor baby, he just decided to move into his own bed last month, when he met this mouthy girl about his own age, telling him all kinds of things I'd rather he'd heard in years to come." Trudy whispered, getting a little bit vehement toward the memory of that little girl. She was worried over how high Jerome's temperature was.

"OK, you, we'd better get out of this particular room where young Jerome is before your rage at that girl will make you so mad, you wake him." Jasper lifted her bridal style and carried her to her room, then lay her in her bed.

"What do you have in mind at all?" She joked.

"Oh, just a few million things." He told her, sounding very distant.

"I'm sure you do." She muttered.

* * *

The next morning, Jerome scuttled in, in his night wear and slippers, trailing tissues behind him. He ran straight to Trudy and hugged her around her ankles.

"Feel ill." He whispered thickly and dryly, before snuffling violently. "Barely breathe, throat hurt."

Trudy mentally kicked herself, gave him paracetamol and took his temperature. "OK, you, go back to bed. I'll bring you something to eat."

She made breakfast for Victor, her and Jasper, who had stayed the night, then fixed a special breakfast filled with vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D and it had in iron and folic acid, which was just in his cornflakes, a slice of lime cheesecake, some orange juice, some strong mint sweets to make his breathing clearer, then in her pocket, menthol drops and a big box of tissues in her hand.

Jerome willingly ate his food and drank what he could. He was paler than usual and Trudy had opened the window, while padding him out in bedding.

Jasper walked in to see her as she was nursing Jerome.

"Aw, cute! You're so adorable together. And what's wrong with the little man?" He asked, sitting down next to him.

"Cold." Jerome replied, but due to his stuffed nose and sore throat it came out "Chourld."

"Oh, I get it." Jasper told him, sympathetically.

Jerome was feeling really down. Trudy sighed. "OK, love, seeing as you're too sick to manage thinking clearly, I'm going to call your school." She told him, stroking his hair back. She knew he was definitely sick, because if he wasn't, he would have begged her for pancakes and driven her crazy already with demands and would never have managed a fake temperature or that voice or the violent sniffles.

"That is a good thing. No school!" Jasper tried to cheer the little boy up. "And a bonus, you get her nursing you."

"I just don't want her worn out and upset. She gets scary when she's tired. And she doesn't like to sleep in case she misses anything and something bad happens." Jerome seemed unhappy at the thought.

"I'm sure she won't mind, kiddo." Jasper told him.

The seven year old looked up at the man and smiled. "Do you really like Trudy?"

"Yeah, she's amazing. A lovely woman, wouldn't you say?" Jasper smiled at the small boy.

"Yeah, I would." Jerome looked at him, studying him. "You're nice. Before you came here, I thought something bad had happened to Trudy."

"Nah, wouldn't have ever let a thing happen to her. She's wonderful." Jasper told Jerome, then they heard a voice.

"Who are you on about? Who's wonderful?" Trudy asked, walking in with a damp rag to try to cool Jerome off.

Jerome grabbed her. "You."

"Aw, that's very sweet of you." She replied, before gently lying him back and placing the cold cloth to the boy's forehead.

She gave him a mint and made him suck it to clear his nasal passages. She gave him menthol rub too, just to make his breathing easier. She dripped some strong menthol drops next to him on his pillow. Jerome snuggled down after he'd finished his sweet and fell asleep.

He'd just have to take this one day at a time.


	7. Jerome Makes A Friend

(I own only plot.)

It had been three weeks since his cold. Jerome was feeling so much better. Trudy was going on another date, this time making Victor look after Jerome and a young boy she'd never met. He hadn't been pleased, but she'd insisted.

Jerome was looking forward to having a friend his own age. Trudy was thrilled that she could find some common ground with him, besides music, films and jokes. Victor was irritated by the whole thing, the grump. He just sat in his office, grouching to his freaky dead bird.

"They're not quiet now, Corbiere. The peace is now shattered." He muttered.

The very dead, very stuffed bird replied to Victor's mind, and only Victor's mind "Ugh, tell me about it. That Jerome kid is a pain."

"I know. Just like that disgusting housekeeper. He has her as a role model." Victor grouched.

"Yeah, I know. Yuck." The bird told him.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Victor saw curls flying and a dress flowing. He groaned and buried his head in his work. Downstairs, Jerome was hanging in the shadows, suddenly shy. Trudy glanced about, but didn't see a young boy.

"Hi, angel." Jasper kissed her cheek, then smiled at her. "Don't panic, Fabian's here. He's just shy. Come on, kiddo, come say hi."

Trudy watched as a seven year old boy with a mop of dark hair and round cheeks shyly made his way forward. "Hi." He whispered.

"Hello, darling. Would you both come inside?" She asked politely.

They followed her in. Trudy called "Jerome, sweet pea, come on."

Jerome scuffled in, looking apprehensive. When he saw the beaming couple looking like proud parents, he walked in. He lay eyes on Fabian and thought of a whole load of things he could learn and teach. Confidently he walked up and smiled. "Hi, Fabian, my name's Jerome."

"Hi, Jerome." Fabian suddenly seemed much more confident. He liked the charisma about this boy.

"What do you like?" Jerome asked.

"Um, I like Toy Story." Fabian told him.

"Really?! I love Toy Story!" Jerome told him. "I have the action figures, wanna see?"

"Yeah!" Fabian agreed enthusiastically. The two shot off to Jerome's room.

Jasper and Trudy watched them go, chuckling. "Little boys will be little boys." Jasper smiled.

"I know, the little darlings." She looked up at him.

"Come on, let's go." He smiled at her, kissed her briefly, then they walked out.

Fabian and Jerome had all the action figures out and Jerome knew to share everything. He didn't even care when his new friend played around with the action figures. He was impressed when Fabian did an impression of Buzz talking to Woody, without using the Toy Story script.

"Buzz, I'm telling you, that potato's up to no good!" 'Woody' insisted.

"Woody, I mean it! No more about the so-called evil potato!" 'Buzz' insisted.

Jerome was laughing at the characters. "That's a brilliant impression!" He laughed.

Fabian fell about laughing too, then looked into a music box. It had a guitar in it and Fabian had been taught by his father to play it. He played the Toy Story theme and Jerome applauded. "Who taught you that?" Jerome asked, shocked.

"My dad. Jasper taught me everything he knows, which is quite a lot. Did Miss Trudy, his girlfriend, teach you anything?"

"She taught me my times tables up to twelve, to tell the time, to write and read, add and subtract and divide. She also taught me piano and how to bake cookies." Jerome told Fabian proudly.

"Ooh, I can't do times tables three to twelve yet, though my teachers have tried." Fabian told him. "I can read music and write it, I can do simple add and subtract, can't divide or do fractions, I can't play piano or bake cookies."

"I may not be allowed in the kitchen, but Trudy has a piano in her room. She said I can use it for practice and I'm sure she won't mind if we try it out." Jerome told him.

Upstairs, the two crept into Trudy's room and Jerome showed Fabian which songs he knew. Fabian played one after Jerome had taught him about the keys. Reading music was a strong point and he played Clair De Lune, Debussy.

Jerome smiled and applauded. "Wow, you're fantastic!" He told Fabian, whose pink cheeks went red.

"Can you teach me the three times table?" Fabian asked.

"How about we do something fun to learn it? Trudy made up songs. If she can, we can. Let's go get paper!" Jerome smiled.

The two seven year old boys grabbed paper and pens. They set to work and it took them approximately half an hour with Jerome's quick handwriting and Fabian's quick thinking. They eventually had this:

_One times three is three._

_I saw a horse, up a tree. _(Blame it on Jerome.)

_Two times three is six._

_I caught Daddy watching chick flicks. _(That one had been Fabian.)

_Three times three is nine._

_Lose my cookie and start to whine. _(Jerome.)

_Four times three is twelve._

_I got chased by a pack of elves. _(Fabian's idea.)

_Five times three is fifteen._

_Going to bed makes me scream._ (Both of them.)

_Six times three is eighteen._

_We got chased with green beans. _(Both of them.)

_Seven times three is twenty one._

_Thank God, we're almost done! _(Blame it on them both.)

_Eight times three is twenty four._

_This is more fun than crashing through the floor. _(Jerome.)

_Nine times three is twenty seven._

_At this rate, we're going to Heaven._ (Fabian.)

_Ten times three is thirty._

_Meet someone, get all flirty._ (Both of them.)

_Eleven times three is thirty three._

_Can we join that horse in the tree? _(Both of them.)

_Twelve times three is thirty six._

_Now I'm hungry, I need a Twix._ (Both of them.)

They read it out, over and over, laughing. Then Fabian managed to recite the times table perfectly without the aid of the song. They went to grab some juice cartons and some cookies that Trudy had left out for them, then they went to play with the action figures some more. They played until the doorbell rang and quickly, the two changed and Jerome jumped into his bed and Fabian into the newly made one on the opposite side of the room and lay there, innocently quiet. They heard soft chuckles and a gentle whisper they couldn't make out, then quiet footsteps to their room.

"Aw, they're asleep." Trudy's quiet whisper.

Jasper murmured "Let them be, they'll sleep like logs now."

The happy couple crept out and went off to bed. Jerome heard his new friend's soft snores and was happy to have a friend.


	8. Trixie Arrives And A Friendship Unravels

(I own only plot.)

Jasper had moved in a month after Jerome's eighth birthday and Fabian was given permission to stay for the weekends. One morning, the doorbell rang and Jerome answered. As it was a Thursday, Fabian wasn't there. A brown haired girl with blue-grey eyes looked at him, smiling and looking very friendly.

"Hello. My name's Patricia Williamson. I'm eight. My mum sent me here. I'm supposed to look for a man called Victor or a woman called Trudy." The girl, Patricia, smiled. She had a definitely more Southern accent, but Jerome liked that.

"Trudy's out shopping with her boyfriend. But Victor's upstairs." Jerome told the girl. Victor walked downstairs at the mention of his name and gave the girl rules and rules and chores and rules and warnings and rules and lectures and rules and then he gave her limit warnings and then (did I mention this?) he gave her rules.

The girl took it all in then whispered to Jerome "Like I'll ever follow that sort of rubbish."

Jerome snickered softly. "Don't worry, I don't do that stuff either." He whispered back. "I'm Jerome Clarke, by the way."

"I like you, Jerome, you're fun." She told him.

When Trudy got back, she wondered where her Jerome was. She glanced in his room and there was no one there. She checked everywhere and saw nothing. It was because the two were hiding up in the attic, where she was forbidden to go. They were too, but Patricia had picked the lock. They were eating a stash of Trudy's cookies and muffins and were having a blast. They waited until Trudy called out that it was time for supper, a surefire way to get Jerome downstairs. It got them both and Trudy was in for a huge surprise when she saw the new girl. "Hello, dear. What's your name?"

"Patricia Williamson." Patricia told her.

"That's lovely. How old are you, sweetie?" She asked quietly.

"Eight." She told her.

"Oh, the same as Jerome and Fabian then. Now, please, sweetheart, take a seat, there's plenty food." Trudy cooed.

Patricia sat with Jerome and the two shared jokes and laughter, while Trudy thought them adorable. Jerome enjoyed Patricia's company and she enjoyed his. They went to Jerome's room afterward to play with his action figures. It turned out that Patricia liked Toy Story as well. She'd get on well with Fabian that weekend. That day had gone quite well for them too.


	9. New Housemates

(I own only plot.)

Now that Jerome, Fabian and Patricia were eleven, that September, they all were allowed to go to the school. The day before the beginning of term, the doorbell rang and it was a now very Goth Patricia who opened the door. Jerome had crept in behind her. At the age of eight, Jerome, Fabian and Patricia had gotten on quite well. Jerome saw a black boy at the door and Patricia wasn't one to enjoy much change in her life. Patricia let the boy in and a very out of character Trudy showed the new boy to his room. Jerome was surprised to find that Victor had moved Fabian into another room and his roommate would be arriving soon.

The new boy set his things up and Jerome got another shock. This kid was into all things alien or supernatural. Luckily for him, Jerome had recently gotten into zombies. He blamed Patricia and her all-night zombie marathon. It'd been what she called a rite of passage. She'd made both Jerome and Fabian stay awake to watch it. The next day they'd been wrecked and Trudy had banned any more until further notice when they all fell asleep in their Cheerios.

"So, what's your name?" The new boy asked.

"Jerome Clarke." Jerome replied.

"Oh, cool, I'm Alfie Lewis." The boy smiled. He seemed like a cheery guy.

Jerome smiled at him. The next knock and Jerome peeked out of his room. It was a blonde girl and Alfie took a peek too. He immediately gasped. From the back, she looked like a princess. However, she had spots all over her face, massive glasses, braces and bushy eyebrows. Her eyes were bright blue and she had very long lashes. She lisped to Trudy that her name was Amber Millington. She was dressed in beautiful clothes that shocked everyone.

Another girl followed immediately after. She looked like a mini Trudy and Jerome fell immediately in love. He heard her saying her name was Mara Jaffray and he thought that to be the most beautiful name ever.

Patricia was skulking in the hall and a small girl opened the door next. She tripped over her own feet and sprawled in front of Trudy. "Ow." She moaned.

Patricia got the girl to her feet in no time, before Trudy had even had the chance to bend over to help. "There y'are. No harm done?"

"Not this time." The girl smiled. "Hi, I'm Joy Mercer."

"I'm Patricia Williamson. Shall I show you to your room?" She offered.

Trudy smiled happily. She loved to see the the kids getting on. "You two are sharing." She told them.

Secretly, both girls were thrilled and they shot off upstairs.

At supper, Joy spotted Fabian. She spent the whole meal crushing on him. Jerome chattered with his best friends and Alfie joined in their conversation, knowing just as much as the friend trio about zombies and astrology.

Mara was a bit of a quiet one, then in walked a blond boy. He was tall, but still shorter than a sky-rocket Jerome. He introduced himself as Mick and instantly flirted with a makeup fixed Amber. The two made a date, to Mara's envy. It seemed typical of Amber.

She soon made good friends with Patricia. They all chattered away, enjoying the first night.

Jerome knew that things would heat up a little eventually.


End file.
